Process of treating materials.



J. W. HORNSEY.

PROCESS OF TREATING MATERILS. 'A l -APPucAnoN VFIILED' 1uLY|5. 1910.RENEwED luNE 24. 1916.

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J. W. HORNSEY.

, PROCESS OF TREATING MATERIALS.

APPLICATION f|LED1uLY15,191o. RENEWED luNE 24.1918.

Patented Jan. 30, 1917.

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ii' 'JUZ HGSEY, Q1? SUMMT, NEW JEESEY, ASSIGNOE '1'0 GENERAL EED'UCTIONGS CORPORATIN OF DELAWAEE.

EGES GF TREATNG' MATERIALS.

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,application filetl 311157 15, 19m, Serai Na. 572,13/1'. Renewe June 24,1916.

a modified form of my apparatus,

My invention relates to a process for efy decomposition, transformationor change in materials by the transfer of heat to or from the material,combined with the action of a chemical reagent, or reagents, and isespecially designed to accomplish this in a closed Chamber by acontinuous oprequired heat for efiecting the change desired, is impartedto or abstracted from the material by passing currents of a heatsupplving or absorbing medium through suitable flues or chambers in theapparatus, although` in some instances, this e'fiect may be augmented orreplaced by a heating or cooling action produced by the material itselfwhile undergoing treatment.

In carrying out my process T pass material in an agitated andsub-divided condition through an inclosing Chamber, in contact with achemical reagent, and repeatediy impinge the particles of the materialor the chemical reagent or both, upon heat supplying or absorbingsurfaces,-the temperature of which, while Constant at any given polnt,varies progressively in an ascending or descending degree in the path ofthe material. as it travels through the chamber;- and in this manner 1apply heat uniformly to or abstract it from all of the Vparticles of thematerial, and at the same time bring the material into such intimatecontact with the chemical reagent that 1 am enabled to effect thedesired decomposition, transformation or change at the most eflicienttemperature, and with the minimum expenditure of heat energy andquantity of reagent. For instance, 1 am enabled to manufacture water-gasby the intimate and constant admixture of carboncontaining particleswith steam, in a continuous manner, without depending upon fectingpeciicaton of etters Eatent.

with the minimum' Patented Jan., 30, 191%,

Serial No. 105,722.

the carbon-containing` particles themselves to supply the requisiteheat, and without bringing either the carbon-containing particles or thereagentf-steam-into contact with the heat-supplying medium. r1`herepeated impingement of the material or the reagent or both on theheated surfaces tends to disrupt the particles, exposinzI fresh surfaoesto the action of the heat, and also of the chemical reagent. By reasonof the continuity of the process I am able to recover a larger yield ofgas.

My process may be carried out at any deslred sub or super-atmospherictemperature or pressure. A reagent may be used which will produce eitheran oxidizing or a reducing atmosphere as desired.

1 shall herein show and describe apparatus in forms which 1 have foundto be preferable for actual use in practisinn` my process, but it willbe understood that many changes may be made, and that the forms hereillustrated and described constitute merely preferred forms of apparatusby which may invention may be practised.

Referrinn` to the drawings, 2 is a horizontal base supported preferablyat one of its ends upon a shaft 8 and at its other end having suitablejacking mcchanism 11 which acts not only as a support for that end, butalso as a means by' which the inclination of the chamber 5 may be variedto accelerate or retard the passage of the material through the chamber5.

While 1 have shown the Chamber 5 in the form of a cylinder. which 1prefcr. it may be made in other forms and serve the same purpose. Thiscylinder 5 at its feed end 6 and its discharge end 7 is adapted torotate in the fixed heads 8 and 9. The cylinder is rotated by the gearwheel 10, driven by any suitable means, which meshes with the teeth 11of the girth gear 12.

The cylinder is supported by the roller bearings 13, of which 1preferably use two sets, one near each end of the cylinder. 1nconnection with one of these sets 1 employ horizontally disposed thrustrollers 14 which bear on the ring 15 and hold the cylinder 5 againstlongitudinal movement.

Projecting through the head 8 is an intake 16 through which the materialis introduced. 1 have shown a screw conveyer 17 which is speci'ficallyadapted for handling solid materials. 1n the fixed head generated in thecylinder is led away for further treatment. 19 is a water seal and ,20is a receptacle connected therewith in which any solid materialdischarged from the cylinder is deposited. I may, if I desire, dispensewith the water seal 19, and instead thereof discharge the materialdirectly into the receptacle 20, which would be in this case filled withWater above the bottom of the discharge head.

The cylinder 5 is formed of a casing 21, preferably of metal withinwhich are located segmental blocks 22 and 22' of material such asfire-brick, asbestos, or the like, which serve to retain the heat in thecylinder, and also the blocks 22'act as supports for an inner circle ofblocks 24 made of fireclay or other refractory or non-corrosivematerial, to resist the action of the heat, or of the reagent, or both.The spaces bounded by the blocks 22, 22' and 24 form flues 23 to carrythe heating gase-s. The blocks '24 are formed with bucket-shaped orshelf-like inner surfaces 25 for repeatedly raising and distributing thematerial to be treated as the cylinder rotates.

26 are circumferential ribs formed by the ends of blocks 24 and aredesigned to interrupt or retard the longitudinal travel of the material.The fuel gas header 27 sup-- plies the fuel which is burned in theheating flues 23, which lead out of an annular passage 28. Projectinginto this passage 28 are a series of fixed burners 29 connected bysuitable branch piping 30 with the header 27. The burners 29 are mountedin plates i I 31 which adjoin the Vertical faces 32 of the cylinder 5.Instead of this system of fixed burners and piping, I may use burnersrotating with the cylinder or connect the annular passage 28, by meansof suitable flues, with a furnace of any approved type adapted toconsume any kind of fuel, in such manner as to generate heating gases,in the volume and of the calorific intensity requisite to produce theresults desire At the feed end 6 of the cylinder 5 the heating flues 23lead into an eduction passage 33 in the fiXed head 8 from which anoutlet 34 is provided.

35 is a supply pipe for the distributer box 36 through which the reagentif a gas or' vapor, may be introduced. If the reagent be a liquid or asolid 'it may be introduced by any suitable means, preferably by pre-Vious admixture with the material.

The .joints between the ends of the rotating cylinder and the fixedheads should be air and gas tight and this may be accomplished by anysuitable means. I prefer, however, to use the adjustable, flexible,annular plates 37.

When the pressure inside of 'the cylinder 5 varies materially from thatof the atmosphere, I provide at the inward extremity of the intake 16,the tapered conical nozzle 38 which is so proportioned that as thematerial is forced inward b the conveyer 17 it will nozzle 38 isremovable, and other similar nozzles, but of varying length and taper,may be substitute'd in order to accommodate material of varyingconsistencies. The object of the plug of material within the nozzle 38is to prevent leakage of gaseous 'or volatile products from the cylinderthrough the intake 16, or of atmospheric air into the cylinder. Anyother suitable means for excluding air and for preventing leakage of thegas may be used instead o'f the nozzle 38.

In Fig. 2 I have shown notches or mortises 39 and 40 in the outerportions of the blocks 24. These notches are intended to fit upon theblocks 22'. By placing the notches 39 in juxtaposition with the notches40 of. the next succeedingcircular row of segmental blocks 24 in thecylinder, it is obvious that the buckets` 25 of the alternate rows maybe staggered.

The distributing cups or buckets 25, which may be of any desired shape,inclination or capacity, are, particularly when staggered as heretoforedescribed, of marked ad- Vantage when either the material, the reagent,or a product is gaseous or vaporous in form, as these distributing cupsor buckets 25 are adapted to spill their contents in an approximatelyeven and uniformly distributed shower, thus preventing the gas 01' Vaporfrom passing out of the cylinder withou coming into contact with thesolid partic es.

I carry out my process in the following manner: The cylinder having beenstarted in' rotation, I feed the material to be treated, preferably in afinely divided condition if a solid, into the cylinder 5 through theintake 16. The material is advanced by the rotation and inclination ofthe cylinder toward the discharge end 7 ,'but is retarded by the ribs26, and by reason of the rotation of the cylinder and'the action of thebuckets, the material is'broken up and kept in an agitated andsubdivided state in intimate contact with the reagent. In ,this'mannerthe separated particles of the material, or the reagent, or both, areconstantly and repeatedly impinged upon the heating surfaces of theblocks 24, by which action the transfer of heat is rapidly andetficiently accomplished, resulting `finallyl in the completion of thedesired decomposition, transformation or change. As the material and thereagent travel through the cylinder in contact with the walls of theflues 23, or in juxtaposition thereto, the desired decomposition,transformation or change is gradually and progressively accomplished,the

pack together in t e form of .a plug. The.70

' the heating gases in astarot resulting product 'being evenly anduniformly treated at the discharge end of the cylinder.

lin the manufacture of water gas for which li preferably use materialwhich has previously been coked, li admit steam into the cylinderthrough the distributer box 36 in suiicient uantities to convert thecarbon of the co' e or other material into carbon monoxid gas by itscombination with the oxygen evolved ondecomposition of the steam. Sincethe material treated is not in form a compactmass, it is not necessaryto force the steam through the material in a blast, a steam atmospherebeing all that is required. While i have described the introduction ofsteam into the cylinder, water may be introduced which will be readilyconverted into steam, since I contemplate using temperatures within thecylinder of from 1800 to 2000 F. 01' even higher. When desired, the gasmay be enriched or carburetted by introducing oil or other likematerials into the chamber through the intake 16, or through the pipe 35with the steam. t

instead of introducing steam as a reagent, l may introduce anoxygen-yielding gas, such as carbon dioxid, or a mixture of carbondioxid and air, or a mixture of steam and other gases, as in themanufacture of producerl gas. In such a case the carbon dioxid willyield part of its oxygen to the carbon contained in the cylinder, andthe resulting gas will be carbon monoxid, either mixed with other gasesor not. I may, in this manner, form a producer gas, by supplying aproper proportion of steam and products of combustion-which products ofcombustion have already been utilized to heat the fiues 23. There aremany other analogous uses which will readily suggest themselves to thoseskilled in the art.

The material when treated in my preferred manner, moves in one directionthrough the cylinder (from left to right, as shown in the drawings),whereas, the

heat supplying medium moves through the.

heating fiues 23 in 'the other direction (from right to left, asillustrated), and this arrangement has marked practical advatages intreating many kinds of materials,-as the fiues 23 cause the heatingsurfaces at the end of the cylinder at which they enter, to be hotterthan at the other end of the cylinder, the intermediate portionsgradually and progressively decreasing in temperature so that thematerial and the reagent are subjected to a progressively increasingtemperature as they advance from one end of the cylinder to the other,and, when they arrive at the end of the cylinder at which they aredischarged, are subjected to the highest temperature, at

which point the material is generally more 'at which the .desired,however,

repeilent to the action of heat and requires a higher temperature inorder to complete the process. rl`his counterflow of heating gases andmaterial results in a more eficient transfer of heat to the material andthe reagent, a more effective reaction between them, and a more perfectand uniform resulting product. lit is unders'tood, however, that ll donot limit myself to the use of this counterflow of heating' gases andmaterial; but ll may, instead thereof, introduce the material andheating gases at the same end of the apparatus, and the reagent at theopposite, or at the same end; or I may make any combination orari'angement for the introduction of the heat- -ing gases, the materialand the reagent, and

for the withdrawal of the resulting lproducts, that may best comply withthe requirements of the particular process l desireto practise, whicharrangements are so obvious as not to require illustration, and in noway involve a departure from the spirit of my invention.

' lt will be noted that the temperature controlling medium does not comeinto direct contact With the material undergoing treatment, cr with thereagent or the products produced, but that the transfer of heat takesplace by conducton or radiation.

In Fig. 3 show a modification which is adapted for the manufacture ofboth coal gas and water gas in the same cylinder. This cylinder is`similar to that shown in Fig. 1 except as stated. As the feed end 6',

coal is admitted, is more remote from the source of heat, the heat inthe cylinder will diminish toward the feed end, thus supplying a lowerdegree of heat for making coal gas and transforming the coal into coke,while the opposite end of the cylinder Supplies a higher degree of heatfor making water gas. At the feed end 6' of the cylinder is the steampipe 41 to which steam is supplied through the tube 4:2. /i3 is an otakethrough which part of the gas (consisting chieiiy of coal gas) is drawnoff, while the rest of the gas (consisting chiefiy of Water gas) iswithdrawn through the discharge opening at the opposite end of thecylinder, this opening being of the same Character as that marked 18 onFig. 1. If all of the gas (that is, coal and water gas mixed together)may be withdrawn through either opening. It will be seen that the coalgas will be generated in the part of the cylinder marked A and that thematerial on becoming coked, will be advanced linto the part B in whichan atmosphere of steam is maintained. The gas produced in this part Bfrom the coked material will be water gas and this may be carried offthrough the discharge opening, while the waste 'or ash may be passedthrough a water seal into a tank, as described above.

ioo

An important advantage of my invention is the continuous operation ofthe apparatus which can be run for an indefinite period since thematerial and the reagent are fed in automaticall and continuously, andthe gaseous and ot er products are discharged in the same manner.Obviously, the apparatus used in carryng out my plrocess may be modifiedin' many ways Wit out departing from the spirit of my invention, as, forinstance, the temperature controlling flues 23 may be circumferentiallydisposed as shown, or may be in the form of one or more tubularpassages, centrally or circumferentially disposed within .the cylinder,for instance, any temperature medium which Supplies heat by conductionor' radiation, instead of the specific means described and shown hereinmay be employed if desired.

It is to be understood that I do not confine myself to the specific formof apparatus which I have shown and described, but I| may utilize anyequivalent form of apparatus equally well adapted to the carrymg out ofmy process.

I desire to claim:

1. The process of continuously making water gas which consists inintroducing carbonaceous material and steam into a closed vessel in thepresence of a source of heat out of contact with the materialmaintaining the particles of the material in a series of falling showersdown through the vessel whereby the steam as it passes through thevessel is brought into repeated and shifting contact with the particlesof the material.

2. The process of making water gas continuously, which consists'infeeding carbonaceous material into a closed vessel in the presence of asource of heat out of contact With the material, introducing steam intothe vessel, and maintaining the particles of the material fin acondition of separation and subdivision by repeatedly lifting andshowering the particles down through the vessel thereby presenting allsurfaces of the material agaln and again to the action of the heat andthe steam.

3. The process of making water gas,

which consists in introducing carbonaceous material and steam into aclosed vessel in the presence of externally applied heat, maintainingthe particles of the material in a series of falling showers downthrough the vessel whereby each particle has all of its surfacesrepeatedly exposed to the action of the heat and the steam, and theseared surfaces of the particles are again and again broken ofi' andfresh surfaces again and again presented to the action of the heat andthe steam whereby gasification of the material is substantially.completed.

4. The process of producing water gas, which consists in introducingcarbonaceous material continuously into an externally heated revolvingvessel, introducing steam into the vessel while the vessel is revolvedto cause the material to be picked up and showered down in the interiorof tne vessel to maintain the material in a finely dividedv andcomminuted condition, thus exposing the separated lparticles of thematerial to the action of the steam and heat, the shock of the fallingparticles being adapted to disrupt their seared surfaces and presentfresh surfaces to the action of the heat and steam with each revolutionof the vessel.

5. The process of producing water gas which consists in introducingcarbonaceous material continuously into an externally heated vessel,passing steam through falling veils of the material and again and againsubjectin the surfaces of the material in a separate and unsupportedcondition to the action of the heat and the steam whereby the materialis substantially gasified;

6. The process, of continuously making water gas, which consists inintroducing carbonaceous material and steam into a closed vessel,maintaining the articles of the material in a series of fa ling showersdown through the vessel, whereby the steam as it passes through thevessel is brought into repeated and shifting contact with the particlesof the material, and subjecting the material to the action of acounter-flowing source of heat out of contact with the material.

7. The process of treating materials, which consists in introducingmaterials continuously into an externally heated vessel in the presenceof a gaseous reagent, causing complete reaction between the material andthe gaseous reagent.

JOHN W. HORNSEY. Witnesses:

R. I. MIDDLn'roN, G. HAUsER.

